Microphone assembly for a vehicle hands-free telephone
A microphone assembly of a vehicle hands-free telephone comprises a guide and a microphone unit. The microphone unit moves between a retracted position and an extended position relative to the guide. The microphone may be activated in the extended position and deactivated in the retracted position.
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The invention relates to a microphone assembly for a vehicle hands-free telephone
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA microphone assembly used in a hands-free telephone may be installed as original equipment with the vehicle or, alternatively, retrofitted into the vehicle as aftermarket equipment. In the past, the microphone assembly has been attached to the A-column of the vehicle interior through a mounting screw, or integrated as part of an interior lighting unit. However, a microphone attached to the A-column protrudes above the interior lining of the A-column making the lining susceptible to tearing. On the other hand, making the microphone assembly part of the lighting unit requires expensive shielding to insulate the assembly from vehicle vibrations and oscillations. In either installation, the reception quality of the microphone assembly is low because the assembly is not directed toward the source of relevant sound, i.e., a vehicle occupant. The A-column is near the foot space, while the lighting unit is above the driver.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe inventive microphone assembly for a hands-free telephone has a guide for the microphone. In contrast to existing vehicle microphone assemblies, the guide permits the inventive microphone to be retracted and extended from its base. Extending the microphone allows a user to move and orient the microphone closer to his mouth to thereby improve acoustic reception. Retracting the microphone permits the user to hide the microphone so that it does not project far above the lining of the vehicle interior, preventing accidental tearing of the lining.
Preferably, the microphone is automatically switched “on” when extended and switched “off” when retracted. In this way, the microphone may be activated and deactivated by its simply retraction and extension. Alternatively, the microphone assembly may have an actuation switch, such as an “on/off” knob.
Locating the microphone close to the user, such as a vehicle driver, allows the driver to conveniently and safely activate or deactivate the microphone. Unlike prior designs, the inventive microphone assembly does not require the driver to orient himself toward the A-column, or lighting unit, to address the microphone.
It is preferred that the guide has a bushing surrounding the microphone. The microphone may retract into the bushing. Once retracted, the microphone preferably projects only slightly above the bushing.
Moreover, the inventive microphone assembly may incorporate a fastening device that attaches the microphone assembly to an opening in a lining of the vehicle interior as a pre-assembled unit. The fastening device may be a latch that secures the entire microphone assembly in the opening in the lining by simply pushing the assembly into the opening.
The microphone assembly may also incorporate a drive that extends the microphone without power from the vehicle's electrical system. Such a feature simplifies installation. For example, the assembly may have a spring that permits the user to push the microphone into a retracted position and thereby compress the spring. Upon release of the compressed spring by the user, the decompressing spring drives the microphone to its extended position. Preferably, the spring is a “pop out” device that extends the microphone by pressing it to release the compressed spring. Friction between the microphone and the guide may slow extension of the microphone in such an assembly.
Once released, the spring holds the microphone at its extended position through a pre-tensioning force generated by the spring. The microphone assembly may also swivel while extended. This pivot feature allows the user to orient the microphone in a variety of differing directions.
The guide may have a curved shape, which reduces the space needed to store the microphone assembly. The shape also allows the microphone to extend along a curve to permit the microphone to be easily swiveled. In this design, microphone entrance openings at the free end of the microphone are preferably arranged such that they may point in different directions through swiveling movement. The cross-section of the microphone unit along the curve is preferably circular. A clip may be provided that securely holds the microphone in place. The clip may simply be a slot that receives an elastic protrusion from the microphone, to retain the microphone in its retracted position.
The invention further relates to a hands-free telephone for a vehicle that employs the inventive microphone assembly. By simply extending the microphone, the telephone may be switched “on”. The telephone may also have other features. In one version, only the microphone is switched “on”, for example during a phone call. In another version, the telephone gives the user the option to accept an incoming phone call. A further possible function is switching on a hands-free mode by activating the microphone. The hands-free telephone may also permit voice dialing.
As shown in
As seen in
A conical wire spring 40 is positioned between a rear side of the microphone unit 32 and the upper lid 24. The conical wire spring 40 serves both as an energy storage unit and a drive for extending the microphone unit 32. The microphone unit 32 is movable between a retracted position (shown in
Bushing 22 also has a clip. As can be seen in
As microphone unit 32 extends, a damping effect slows the extension of microphone unit 32. This damping effect may result from friction between the guide 29 and the microphone unit 32. Specifically, an outer envelope surface 52 of the microphone unit 32 represents a guide surface, which slows movement of microphone unit 32 through friction between guide 29 and envelope surface 52.
As shown in
By swiveling free end 31, the microphone unit 32 may be given a different orientation for receiving sound because the microphone entrance openings 54 on the end face 50 and partially on the envelope surface 52 will point in different directions as free end 31 swivels. In so doing, the microphone unit 32 can be directed by the driver or the passenger.
The curved-shaped guide 29 and the microphone unit 32 are adapted to each other to permit swiveling in the extended position. For example, as shown in
For switching the telephone to the “off” state, one simply pushes the microphone unit 32 back into guide 29 until the protrusion 44 again is located in the lowermost place of the “V”. The contacts K1, K2 are no longer connected by contact K3. Moreover, the energy applied by the vehicle user by pushing the microphone unit 32 back into the retracted position is stored in the spring 40.
The embodiment according to
Here too, a variable orientation microphone of the unit 32 is possible in the extended position. Microphone entrance openings 54 may be provided only at specific circumferential locations on the envelope surface 52′. The microphone entrance openings 54 are either oriented towards the driver or the passenger, when the microphone unit 32 is rotated in the guide about axis A. In this embodiment, the lower lid 26 has been omitted because sleeve 28 assumes the function of lower lid 26.
Although preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications will come within the scope of this invention. For that reason the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.
Claims
1. A microphone assembly for a hands-free telephone to be used in a vehicle, comprising:
- a guide adapted for mounting to a vehicle, said guide comprising a bushing mountable within a vehicle headliner; and
- a microphone unit for a hands-free telephone, said microphone unit being selectively movable within said bushing between a retracted position in which said microphone unit is deactivated and an extended position in which said microphone unit is activated wherein said microphone unit is substantially enclosed within said guide in said retracted position by moving the microphone unit into said bushing and wherein said microphone unit protrudes outwardly from said guide when in said extended position by moving the microphone unit out of said bushing.
2. The microphone assembly of claim 1, wherein said microphone unit has an electrical circuit trace which completes a contact circuit when in said extended position, and does not complete said contact circuit when in said retracted position.
3. The microphone assembly of claim 2, wherein a pair of spaced contacts is formed within said guide, and said electrical circuit trace on said microphone unit connects said pair of spaced contacts to complete said contact circuit when said microphone unit is in said extended position.
4. The microphone assembly of claim 1, including a fastening device for fastening said guide to a lining of a vehicle interior.
5. The microphone assembly of claim 4, wherein said fastening device comprises a latching device.
6. The microphone assembly of claim 1, including a drive to move said microphone unit between said retracted position and said extended position.
7. The microphone assembly of claim 6, wherein said drive comprises an energy storage device including a spring.
8. The microphone assembly of claim 1, wherein said microphone unit is movable into said extended position by pressing said microphone unit into said guide.
9. The microphone assembly of claim 1, wherein contacting surfaces on said microphone unit and said guide create friction to provide a damping effect that slows movement of said microphone unit between said retracted position and said extended position.
10. The microphone assembly of claim 1, wherein said microphone unit swivels.
11. The microphone assembly of claim 1, wherein said guide is curved-shaped.
12. The microphone assembly of claim 11, wherein said microphone unit has a curved-shaped guide surface cooperating with said guide to move said microphone unit into said extended position along an arcuate path.
13. The microphone assembly of claim 12, wherein said microphone unit has a circular cross-section along said guide.
14. The microphone assembly of claim 1, wherein said microphone unit comprises a free end having microphone entrance openings oriented to receive sound from a particular direction.
15. The microphone assembly of claim 1, including a clip to retain said microphone unit in said retracted position.
16. The microphone assembly of claim 15, wherein said clip comprises a slot in an inner portion of said guide.
17. The microphone assembly according to claim 16, wherein said clip includes a protrusion on said microphone unit, said protrusion projecting into said slot in said retracted position.
18. A hands free telephone assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
- a hands-free telephone;
- a guide adapted for mounting to a vehicle, said guide comprising a bushing mountable within a vehicle headliner; and
- a microphone unit in communication with said hands-free telephone, said microphone unit selectively movable within said bushing between a retracted position wherein said microphone unit is moved into said bushing and an extended position wherein said microphone unit is moved out of said bushing, and wherein said microphone unit is substantially enclosed within said guide in said retracted position and wherein said microphone unit protrudes outwardly from said guide in said extended position.
19. The hands free telephone assembly of claim 18, wherein said microphone unit is activated when in said extended position to extend outwardly from the vehicle headliner and is deactivated in said retracted position, and with said microphone unit moving inwardly toward the vehicle headliner to be received within said bushing.
20. The microphone assembly of claim 1, wherein said bushing is received within a foam layer of the vehicle headliner, said microphone unit being slidably received within said bushing, and including a fastening sleeve surrounding a portion of said guide to secure said guide directly to the vehicle headliner.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Jan 30, 2003
Date of Patent: Jun 6, 2006
Patent Publication Number: 20040204167
Assignee: ArvinMeritor GmbH
Inventor: Peter Lane (Otzberg)
Primary Examiner: Suhan Ni
Assistant Examiner: Tuan D. Nguyen
Attorney: Carlson, Gaskey & Olds
Application Number: 10/354,446
International Classification: H04R 25/00 (20060101);